Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. New York: Grove Press, 1967. Print.
Stoppard's classic takes the story of Hamlet and tells it from the point of two minor characters in the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Stoppard gives them a thought out characterization as well as existential crisis about death as well as their role in the world of the play. I don't think I would read the whole play with a classroom. But, I think it would be interesting to do a unit on adaptations of Shakespeare plays and look at parts of different modern plays, including this one. I think you could stage this with a high school theatre group. They might have trouble understanding some of the deeper meanings, but it would be an interesting first step for them to do Shakespeare.
Stoppard's classic takes the story of Hamlet and tells it from the point of two minor characters in the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Stoppard gives them a thought out characterization as well as existential crisis about death as well as their role in the world of the play. I don't think I would read the whole play with a classroom. But, I think it would be interesting to do a unit on adaptations of Shakespeare plays and look at parts of different modern plays, including this one. I think you could stage this with a high school theatre group. They might have trouble understanding some of the deeper meanings, but it would be an interesting first step for them to do Shakespeare.